From a strong headline to a good headshot, making sure your LinkedIn profile is polished can mean the difference between a job offer and a pass.
One quick way to show prospective clients or employers that you’re the real deal is through recommendations. But, who exactly should you ask for recommendations?
Who Should You Ask for Recommendations on LinkedIn?
When asking for recommendations on LinkedIn, it’s best to choose contacts that you have a good working relationship with and have worked with you extensively or recently.
If you work in a corporate role, it is also good to have a good mix of feedback from immediate supervisors, colleagues on the same level, and team members that have worked under you.
Should future employers want to verify your relationship with your colleagues, they will likely check if you both have a history of working together in the same company.
With this, it’s also essential that the people recommending you have proof of working in the same company on their LinkedIn profiles as well.
Before you ask someone for a recommendation on LinkedIn, it’s better to ask them personally first. By recommending you, your contacts also put their name on the line, so it is critical to not put them in an uncomfortable situation with a sudden request.
What Good LinkedIn Recommendations Looks Like
While anyone can write a generic recommendation, it is best to receive recommendations that add value to your LinkedIn profile. Aside from updating your LinkedIn headline, recommendations are a great way to share your career goals and history of work.
Depending on your relationship with the person giving the recommendation, it is good to ask them to highlight your achievements in an objective manner.
For example, instead of simply saying you were a good project manager, you can ask if they can include the budget of the project, the number of team members managed, or the consistency by which targets were met.
If the person who is recommending you is a colleague, it is best if they talk about the experience of working with you. For example, they can talk about the ease of working with you, professionalism, and so on.
Alternatively, if you are asking for a recommendation from a previous client, it is good to ask them to highlight things like your ability to submit on time, reliability, and quality of work.
How to Ask Someone for Recommendations on LinkedIn
To ask someone for recommendations on LinkedIn, go to your LinkedIn homepage and click the downward arrow under Me. Next, click View Profile to go to your LinkedIn profile.
Scroll down until you see the Recommendations tab and select Ask for a recommendation. Next, search for the name of the person you have chosen to give you a recommendation and click Continue.
Then, select your relationship with the person you are asking for a recommendation from, your position at the time, and an optional personalized message. Lastly, click Send to complete the request.
Get Recommendations on LinkedIn Today
Getting recommendations shows that your profile is legitimate, reveals valuable information about your personality, and helps verify what your CV cannot. With recommendations, recruiters and prospective employers can have references that go beyond your CV.
Through recommendations on LinkedIn, you can use your profile to showcase your history of work and the experiences of people you have worked with. Knowing this, people looking at your profile can better decide if you’re the right person to hire for any job.
